Five people have died in a plane crash at the Bartow Municipal Airport in Polk County, deputies say.

According to the Polk County, Florida, Sheriff's Office, a Cessna 340 twin-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff at the Bartow Municipal Airport in Bartow. Airport officials said the plane was fully engulfed in flames after the crash. Heavy fog was reported at the time, officials said.

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The pilot was identified as John Shannon, 70, of Lakeland, Florida. Authorities identified the four passengers as Shannon's daughters, Olivia Shannon, 24, and Victoria Shannon-Worthington, 26; Shannon-Worthington's husband, Peter Worthington Jr., 27; and a family friend, Krista Clayton, 32, of Lakeland.

Shannon-Worthington was a teacher at Baltimore International Academy Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore. Worthington was a third-year law student at the University of Maryland Baltimore.

Authorities said John Shannon filed a flight plan Sunday morning to fly to Key West, Florida. Shannon-Worthington and her husband arrived in Florida Saturday from Baltimore.

The Bartow Municipal Airport is the former location of a U.S. Air Force Base and is also referred to as the Bartow Air Base is located just off of US 17 near Spirit Lake Road.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office will handle the death investigation, officials said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shannon, Worthington, and Clayton families. This is a tragedy any time, but it is so much worse because it happened on Christmas Eve. We are providing all of our resources to assist them with anything they need to help them get through this horrific tragedy," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.